Virtual Gifts #WhatWillYouSave

I've recently been working with the Brooke on their virtual gift range, including designing their gift catalogue, fulfilment pack and advertising.

It will be interesting to see how successful the advertising is; on Black Friday they placed my adverts in the Telegraph and Daily Mail, hoping to appeal to Christmas shoppers who felt bad about the comercialisation of these events and who would see the benefits of buying these gifts that will still be nice to receive but will also make a real difference.

The Brooke enhanced this campaign by tweeting and commenting on Facebook using #WhatWillYouSave? which helped engage many supporters, making them consider these 'virtual' gifts as a good option for friends and relatives this Christmas.

They have recently updated their gift website thebrookeshop.org making it clearer and easier to understand and gifts can be delivered by a personalised Ecard or by post.

A few years ago these 'Virtual Gifts' were all the rage with charities. I am proud to have worked on the very first campaign in the UK launching the concept with World Vision.

It took a couple of years for people to understand how the gifts worked - it's surprising how many people thought they would actually receive a goat in the post -but then most charities got on the band-wagon and created their own gift packages, from a nurse's time for MacMillan to WaterAid's 'SHO2P'.

One of the most successful is Oxfam whose virtual gifts are online and in their shops and are a major source of funds.

Hopefully the Brooke campaign will be successful, It's a gift that keeps on giving - you are giving a donation to the charities you support at Christmas while also sharing the 'virtual' gift with friends by being able to give them a certificate and finally the animal (or person in need) receives the help they need.